1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to computer systems. More particularly, the present invention relates to a system and method for provisioning target computer system(s) with programs, such as an operating system program and application program(s), in accordance with a selected policy and based on a stored user state.
2. Description of the Related Art
A user state on a computer system is a collection of data, such as user state settings, related to programs, such as operating system programs and application programs, on the computer system. Conventionally, a stored user state, also termed a user state package, is created by obtaining selected user state data from registries and files on the computer system, and storing the collected user state data as a stored user state package. User states packages are typically created, for example, by a system administrator, for installation to another computer system, or for backup purposes.
When a policy, such as an organizational policy, stipulates selected policy compliant programs and/or program versions for installation on computer systems, prior to restoring a user state package to a computer system, a system administrator must first provision the computer system, to which the user state package will be restored, with an operating system image and applications in accordance with the organizational policy. Conventionally this procedure is manually performed by the system administrator, and is often a time consuming process for the system administrator to select and obtain policy compliant programs and determine and obtain program version updates.